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Category: Civil Rights

Here are some resources and ideas to help everyone learn about the life and important contributions of Dr. Martin Luther King.

You can learn a lot from simply watching this video developed by (I think) a 2nd grade class (Please help me find the original source so that I can properly cite and acknowledge their outstanding work.).

I’ve visited the National Civil Rights Museum several times throughout recent years. I think it’s one of the must-do experiences here in Memphis. Standing near the place where Dr. Martin Luther King was assassinated never ceases to move me. Although many will spotlight Dr. King’s I Have a Dream speech (which I’ve also done in the past) this MLK Day, I have decided to spotlight his final speech referred to as I’ve Been to the Mountaintop (View full text). It was actually given at the Mason Temple here in Memphis the night before his death. I created the below Wordle of this speech to present the major topics from this passionate dream of a new day.

Internationally renowned author, speaker and career educator Ruby Payne, Ph.D., will serve as the featured speaker at an upcoming fundraiser for HopeWorks.

From years of life lessons, Dr. Payne, founder of aha! Process, has written more than a dozen books on poverty. Dr. Payne is an expert on the mindset of economic class, the socioeconomic assumptions of class and the framework for effective social change. She has worked to educate communities across the world about the effects of class and poverty on our society. Her book, A Framework for Understanding Poverty, provides practical, real-world support and guidance to improve one’s effectiveness in working with people from all socioeconomic backgrounds. Since 1995 A Framework for Understanding Poverty has guided hundreds of thousands of educators and other professionals through the pitfalls and barriers faced by all classes, especially the poor.

You may know how to use a credit card, checking and savings account, but do you know what to do when you don’t have enough money to pay your bills? As Dr. Payne eloquently illustrates, hidden rules and unspoken cues in social classes are numerous. Oftentimes, members of higher economic classes take the hidden rules of the lower class for granted. To break the cycle of crime and emerge from poverty, one must practice the rules of the middle class.

HopeWorks sees this, and encourages this with its students and provides the tools necessary for those in poverty to achieve success every day. Through our holistic approach to daily classes and meals, educational training and spiritual counseling, HopeWorks strives to give our students the tools they need to break free from the cycle that traps so many in our city. But what will serve our students even more is to help those in higher economic classes understand the hidden rules and challenges of those in poverty so that these individuals can be better served.

I’ve visited the National Civil Rights Museum several times recently as we’ve had friends and colleagues come through Memphis. Standing near the place where Dr. Martin Luther King was assassinated never ceases to move me. Although many will spotlight Dr. King’s I Have a Dream speech (which I’ve also done in the past) this MLK Day, I have decided this year to spotlight his final speech referred to as I’ve Been to the Mountaintop (View full text). It was actually given at the Mason Temple here in Memphis the night before his death. I created the below Wordle of this speech to present the major topics from this passionate dream of a new day.

“While the untimely death of Dr. King was the end of an era, it also marked the beginning of a movement – to take the lessons we learned from his vision and transform our future.” (Source)

Some explanations of the American electoral college are clear as mud. CommonCraft comes to the rescue with an explanation in plain English. Depending on the breadth of the topic within your curriculum you might also consider using one or more of the Schoolhouse Rock videos about American history and government.